[ad_1]
The insect kingdom, the lifeblood of the world, is “dying by a thousand cuts”, according to the world’s top bug experts.
Climate change, insecticides, herbicides, light pollution, invasive species, and changes in agriculture and land use mean that the Earth is likely to lose 1 to 2% of its insects each year, said the University of Connecticut entomologist David Wagner, lead author in a special package of 12 studies in the Monday proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences by 56 scientists around the world.
The problem, sometimes called the insect apocalypse, is like a puzzle. And scientists say they still don’t have all the pieces, so they’re struggling to grasp its enormity and complexity and get the world to notice it and do something about it.
LISTEN | The buzz about the insect apocalypse and how to stop it:
Quirks and quarks20:35Can we avoid an insect apocalypse with a new appreciation for critters?
How fast are insects disappearing in the world? The answer is complicated, and maybe the situation is not as bad as some reports suggest, but the declines in recent decades have been dramatic. The key to insect survival, suggests the author of a new book, is learning to respect and appreciate the world’s scary critters. 20:35
Wagner said scientists need to determine if the rate of insect loss is higher than that of other species.
“There is reason to be more concerned,” he said, as insects “are under attack” along with insecticides, herbicides and light pollution.
According to May Berenbaum, co-author and entomologist at the University of Illinois, winner of the National Medal of Science, “The decline of insects is comparable to climate change of 30 years ago because the methods to assess the extent, the rate (of loss) were difficult. “
Crucial for the environment
Worse yet, in many cases people hate insects, even though they pollinate much of the world’s crops, are essential in the food chain and get rid of waste, Berenbaum said.
Insects “are absolutely the fabric that Mother Nature and the tree of life are made of,” Wagner said.
Monarch bees and butterflies are two well-known species that best illustrate insect problems and their decline, he said. Bees have seen a dramatic decline due to disease, pests, insecticides, herbicides and lack of food.
The drier weather brought about by climate change in the western United States means less milkweed for butterflies, Wagner said. And changes in American agriculture are removing the weeds and flowers they need for nectar.
“We are creating a giant organic desert except soybeans and corn in a giant region of the Midwest,” he said.
Monday’s science papers don’t provide new data, but they do show a full and incomplete picture of a problem that is starting to gain attention.
Scientists have identified a million species of insects, while probably four million more are yet to be discovered, Berenbaum said.
University of Delaware entomologist Doug Tallamy, who was not part of the studies, said they highlight how the world has “spent the past 30 years spending billions of dollars to find new ways to kill. insects and simple pennies to preserve them ”.
“The good news is that, with the exception of climate change, there is a lot that people can do to reverse the decline in insects,” Tallamy said in an email. “It’s a global problem with a bottom-up solution.”
[ad_2]
Source link